The UK's Royal Society was founded in 1660. Among its fellows have been numbered some of the most notable scientists in human history, such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. Election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) is still a significant honour, for scientists who are not just eminent in their field, but have made a significant contribution to scientific knowledge.

Since 2018, Elon Musk has been among their number.

To carry out groundbreaking scientific research, it is not necessary, of course, to be a nice person. However the Royal Society does have a Code of Conduct. It has not, apparently, expelled a Fellow in the last 150 years. But in August 2024 a group of 74 Fellows sent a letter to the President of the Royal Society, raising concerns about Musk's conduct and asking whether he was "a fit and proper person to hold the considerable honour of being a Fellow of the Royal Society".

The Royal Society's refusal to take action led in November to Professor Dorothy Bishop resigning as a Fellow, explaining her reasons for doing so on her blog.

Since Donald Trump's inauguration of President as the United States, Musk has wreaked havoc, taking a leading role in attempts to dismantle vital US government functions. This goes beyond even the concerns about his politics and support for the far right. As detailed below, his actions are causing massive global harm and include direct attacks on scientific research. 

In September 2024, scientists and NGO representatives wrote to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, calling on the government to pause plans to invest £1bn in carbon capture and storage to produce blue hydrogen (from fossil gas) and to capture carbon dioxide from new gas-fired power stations. (see coverage in the Guardian here)

One of the main concerns raised  in our letter was that even if carbon capture is successful (and the technology has a dubious record) it cannot compensate for the upstream emissions from methane leaks, transport and processing of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US.

A follow up letter expanding on some of the concerns was sent a month later, but it was not until 10th February that we received a reply from minister Sarah Jones at DESNZ (the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). Despite waiting five months for this reply, it does not address the problem that the UK's current plans seem to rely on increased imports fracked gas from the US. These have very high associated emissions because of methane leakages during production and transport, and a significant climate impact.

We will continue to campaign on this issue. Last year the UK Supreme Court ruled that planning applications for fossil fuel projects must take into account 'downstream emissions' from burning the fossil fuels extracted. We believe it is just as vital that upstream emissions should be taken into account.

The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental human right, but it has been seriously undermined in the UK in recent years. The latest example of this is the arrest of the Chief Steward, Chris Nineham, and others at the recent Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration on 18th January and the subsequent bringing of charges against Ben Jamal, the Director of the PSC, based on claims which video evidence seems to clearly contradict. 

The conditions which were imposed by the Metropolitan Police on the protest, preventing assembly at the BBC despite a track record of peaceful protests for over a year, are also concerning: they seem to rely on legal powers (a sweeping definition of ‘serious disruption’) that the High Court have previously ruled to be unlawful, but have been left in effect while awaiting an appeal.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and many others have made clear that recent legislation and other changes to the treatment of protesters by police and in the courts are disproportionate and pose a fundamental threat to the right to protest.

We add our voice to those calling for the charges against Chris Nineham, Ben Jamal and others to be dropped. 

We also believe these events, along with the treatment of peaceful climate protesters, further strengthen the case for an urgent overhaul of the law on protest. These include the raft of anti-protest legislation which was brought in by the Conservative government without any clear justification; the removal of the legal defence for protesters in court of ‘necessity’ or acting to prevent a greater harm; and the existence of a parallel system of private law in the sweeping use of civil injunctions. A Labour government, especially one led by a former human rights lawyer, should not be upholding anti-protest laws which are disproportionate, unjust, and breach human rights.

Find out more about attacks on the right to protest